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Monday, September 26, 2011

Autumn Fruit Crisps

Happy Monday peeps! I swear that I had every intention of spending this past weekend baking up a storm and then blogging about all of my kitchen adventures, but the weather turned out so beautiful (Mr. Weather Man was calling for rain, but boy was he wrong!) and I couldn't bare the thought of wasting time indoors!

There's a good chance we aren't going to have too many more weekends that can be spent in flip flops and t-shirts, so we decided to enjoy the time we did have. Derek & I had no plans and no schedule to follow yesterday, so we slept in and then decided to head off to an outdoor flea market that we love to visit. It closes for the season in two weeks, so we thought it'd be fun to spend one more day wandering through the vendors and then stuffing our faces full of fresh cut fries smothered in malt vinegar, ketchup and sea salt. HEAVEN!

On the way to the flea market, we came across an apple orchard with a sign that indicated they were open for business. I think I love apple season almost as much as I love peach season! I had already picked up some apples at the grocery store, but they had Honey Crisps at this orchard, which are one of my faves to eat raw, so I made Derek stop, so we could pick some up. We also picked up some fresh Bartlet pears. Have I mentioned how much I love fresh local produce?! I truly don't want the snow to fly because I am going to be so sad to buy all my produce at the grocery store!!

When we got home, Derek headed out to cut the grass and I headed into the kitchen to make a fabulous Sunday dinner. I can't remember the last time we were home together and were able to enjoy a leisurely dinner on a Sunday night, so I went completely overboard with the food. (that's my round about way of telling you that my photos are not the best today because I was trying to cook 6 things at once!)

Since we are now overflowing with apples, I thought an apple crisp was in order. I also had some peaches that were pretty close to being pitched, so I decided to get all crazy and add them in too :-D

The thing I love about crisps is that you can use almost any fruit you'd like as the filling; peaches, pears or berries all work awesome.

Apple Peach Crisp

There is nothing better than the smell of a delicious apple crisp smothered in brown sugar and cinnamon baking in your oven. The fruit layer in this crisp ended up all ooey gooey and sweet like caramel and it's topped with a brown sugar oatmeal topping. Add a little whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream to make this a dessert fit for the fanciest of company.

For the filling, check out Angela's recipe here. I used brown sugar instead of Sucanat and cornstarch instead of the arrowroot powder.

Cook the fruit filling according to Angela's directions. Place them in the baking dish.

To make the topping, add the flour, oats and brown sugar in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir to combine. Cut the butter into chunks and add to the oat mixture. Using a butter knife, cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles a crumb-like texture.

Spread the topping over the fruit mixture.

Bake for 23 - 26 minutes - until the topping is golden brown and you can see the fruit filling bubbling up around the edges.

Remove from oven. Let sit for at least a few minutes before serving.

Who doesn't enjoy some fresh local fruit smothered in a rich caramel glaze?

Cut, cut, cut....I always get super impatient when doing this, but the end result is worth it!

I used to use non-stick spray on my baking dishes and the result was brown ugly splotches being left behind. Now I use vegetable shortening, which works awesome and wipes away completely clean.

Warning: do not taste right away or you risk burning every single taste bud from the tip of your tongue. Take this advice from someone who's been there, done that :-D

Sweet deliciousness.

I like mine all on it's own and it would also be fabulous with some vanilla bean ice cream. It might also be a great breakie if you're running late and just need a bite of something fabulous to start your day off right...er, yeah, I'm speaking as someone who knows!!!

Derek likes a little crisp with a lot of whipped cream. My guy will never completely grow up & that's why I love him!!!